Conflicts Forum

A commentary by Ben White
For the best part of half a century, Fatah dominated Palestinian politics. Israeli attempts to extinguish the movement failed; rivals were co-opted or sidelined. But gradually, as the Oslo years gave way to the Second Intifada, the peace process went up in smoke and Hamas emerged as a genuine contender for […]

By Alastair Crooke, Conflicts Forum, May 11, 2008
“But what if nobody takes notice?” is the question posed by Robert Malley and Hussein Agha in an article in the recent New York Review of Books concerning the putative ‘shelf agreement’ being discussed between President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert. A ‘shelf agreement’ is an exercise in […]

A Conflicts Forum Monograph, by Geoffrey Aronson, November, 2007
George Bush’s “vision” of a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is based on the supremacy of the “Ramallah model” over the “Gaza model.” U.S. policy intends that the advantages championed by Ramallah in negotiations with Israel and the economic revival enabled by international assistance will “strengthen Abu […]

Alastair Crooke interviewed by Aisling Byrne, Conflicts Forum, Beirut, November, 2007
Alastair Crooke, former special Mid-East adviser to European Union’s Foreign Policy Chief, Javier Solana, and adviser to the International Quartet, is the Co-director of Conflicts Forum. An edited version of this interview was published by BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, Al-Majdal, […]

On November 5, Hamas Political Bureau Chief Khalid Mish’al gave a speech to Arab intellectuals gathered at the Palestine Culture Institute in Damascus. The following is the text of the speech carried by pro-Hamas Al Aqsa TV. The text is reprinted here with permission from and thanks to Mideastwire.
In the name of God, the merciful, […]

A Conflicts Forum Chronology, October 15, 2007
The Failure of the National Unity Government and the Gaza Takeover: December 2005 to July 2007 [PDF], is a detailed chronology, documenting events leading up to the signing, on February 8, 2007, of the Mecca Agreement ending factional fighting between Hamas and Fatah, leading to the formation of a […]